Man arrested after 3 gunpoint robberies at Philadelphia smoke shops, barricade situation
Philadelphia police have made an arrest after three businesses were robbed at gunpoint on three consecutive days this month.
Captain James Kearney, commanding officer of the Philadelphia Police Department's Shooting Investigation Group, identified the suspect as 47-year-old Tyree Hatch.
The string of robberies began Saturday, Nov. 23. At around 1 p.m., police responded to a robbery at the Exotic Convenience Store on the 6700 block of Castor Avenue. The store features a sign that says "vape/smoke shop" out front.
In that incident, a man, now identified as Hatch, went into the store, walked to the back and pointed a handgun when approached, before forcing a 31-year-old employee to open the cash register. The suspect got away with about $400 and the employee's cell phone before leaving in a black SUV. No one was injured in this incident, police said.
The next incident was the only one to result in injuries, It happened around 9 p.m. Sunday at the Cloud Nine Smoke Shop in the 2000 block of Cottman Avenue, a short distance away from the first robbery.
Police said during this robbery, the suspect entered the store with a black-and-blue firearm and demanded money from the cash register.
Then a 21-year-old employee attempted to disarm the suspect and was shot in the left calf. The suspect got away with about $400 in what appeared to be a Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to police.
After this incident, the investigation was forwarded to the Shooting Investigation Group, Kearney said.
"We were able through investigative techniques to continue to pull video and interview additional witnesses. We developed a suspect sometime on Monday," Kearney said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities then reached out to the victims after realizing the two robberies were connected and showed them photos obtained of the suspect in an attempt to identify them. But after securing an identification for the alleged suspect, police were informed about a third gunpoint robbery.
The third robbery happened Monday afternoon around 3:40 p.m. at the Castor Smoke and Vape Shop on the 7100 block of Castor Avenue. During that robbery, the same man, described as bald with a heavyset build wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, a black mask and gloves fled with $600 cash, an iPhone and some vape products.
The suspect then ran off westbound on Friendship Street. Two police officers had connected with Shooting Investigations Group detectives and set up surveillance on the 6700 block of Longshore Avenue.
The officers zeroed in, watching one specific house after seeing a car involved in the robberies at the home. The officers saw the suspect go inside the home and notified police radio. Several law enforcement agencies then responded to the home resulting in a barricade situation.
The suspect later surrendered to police outside the home and was taken into custody. Police executed search warrants for the home and several cars, and recovered evidence from all three robberies including a 9 mm Glock and 9 mm ammunition. Kearney said the gun is believed to have been stolen in July 2024 from Bristol Township.
"Tyree Hatch is in custody and no one else will be robbed in the future from this male," Kearney said. "We took a violent felon off the street by the work of these two good officers."
Hatch is awaiting charges from the Philadelphia district attorney's office. Kearney said the 47-year-old has admitted to all three robberies.
Kearney said the Shooting Investigations Group will reach out to other detective divisions to see if Hatch could be connected to any other previous crimes.
"But for today, two days away from Thanksgiving, we're extremely thankful to get this guy off the street and in custody," he added.